The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nentawe Yilwatda, has charged Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, to mobilise massive support for President Bola Tinubu and ensure a sweeping victory for the ruling party in the 2027 general elections.
Yilwatda gave the charge on Monday during a grand ceremony in Yenagoa, where Governor Diri was formally received into the APC.
“Take this broom as a symbol of authority and unity,” Yilwatda told Diri while presenting him with the party flag. “Sweep out the PDP and ensure that all votes in Bayelsa are swept into the APC in 2027. We must secure a strong percentage of votes for our president.”
He described Bayelsa as a critical state for the party’s expansion in the South-South, declaring that Diri would henceforth serve as the APC leader in the state.
“Today, Bayelsa State is APC,” he said. “The National Working Committee will work directly with Governor Diri on all party matters, and I will hold him responsible for the APC’s growth and success in Bayelsa.”
Vice President Kashim Shettima led top APC figures to the event, which attracted thousands of supporters waving party flags and chanting pro-APC slogans.
Also in attendance were Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Governors Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Lucky Aiyedatiwa (Ondo), Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta), Hope Uzodimma (Imo), and Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom).
Diri’s defection marks a major political shift in the South-South, a region long regarded as a stronghold of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). With his move, only one PDP governor—Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State—remains in the zone.
The Bayelsa governor resigned from the PDP on October 15, 2025, after what he described as “extensive consultations.” Although he initially did not disclose his new political home, he later confirmed that all local government chairmen in the state would join him in the APC.
Diri’s defection received the backing of 23 members of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, led by Speaker Abraham Ngobere.
His switch follows a wave of defections by top opposition figures, including Governors Peter Mbah (Enugu), Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom), and Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta), as the PDP struggles with internal crises ahead of the 2027 elections.
The party has been embroiled in leadership disputes, with suspensions and counter-suspensions rocking its National Working Committee. Acting National Chairman Abdulrahman Mohammed assumed office on Monday, while embattled National Chairman Umar Damagum and his loyalists stayed away from the party’s secretariat.
With less than two years to the next general elections, Diri’s defection underscores growing political realignments as parties position themselves to consolidate power and influence nationwide.
